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A Documentary Film Proposal
Settling the Pacific Northwest:
A BLACK EXPERIENCE
Directed by La-Tonia Denise Willis (Directing as Tonia Denise)
La-Tonia Denise Willis, Writer, Director, & Indie Producer
Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society Member
Seattle, WA 98109
206-214-6783 (Home)
206-478-8303 (Cell)
ldenisewillis@icloud.com
Digital FilmDocs
NW/Independent Film & Video
Alliance
Settling the Pacific Northwest Film Project
Seattle, WA 98109
206-478-8303
Email: settlingthepacificnw@gmail.com
Website: settlingthepacificnw.org

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I.
SYNOPSIS
&
BACKGROUND
There is an old African proverb that says “The power of many small gifts yield
ripples for a lifetime of rewards.” Settling the Pacific Northwest: A Black Experience
is a 90-minute documentary (currently in pre-production) shot on Mini DV that explores
how the impact of black migration to the Pacific Northwest (Oregon, Idaho, Washington)
and specifically the Puget Sound region, forever changed the landscape of the city and
the political, social and cultural lives of African and African-Americans living there. Yet, as
African-Americans and other black immigrants from the Diaspora became more visible
and developed a more prominent stance in their respective communities many
challenges ensued. Settling the Pacific Northwest incorporates on-camera interviews
and archival footage to illustrate the manner in which these collective experiences took
shape to become a beacon for universal social change. The documentary film relies
heavily on first person interviews and testimonials to reflect a wide spectrum of profiles
and stories detailing the attitudes, struggles and accomplishments of blacks who
migrated to the Pacific Northwest.
The project is a case history of the past and present with selected subjects
representing the span of the Great Northwest Migration (1920-1945), to post-World War
II and current day black migration (1945-Present) to the Pacific Northwest. The impetus

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of Settling the Pacific Northwest lies in its investigative and cinematic storytelling of
vigorous, dynamic and influential characters. From the lives of these journeys human
truths are allowed to emerge about courageous and captivating individuals who risked
every thing in the search for greater opportunities. Ultimately, the documentary seeks to
gain a national and international audience; even though the perspective is regional, the
storytelling is inclusive and will resonate with immigrants worldwide in its dedication to
eliminating stereotypes and presenting mufti-faceted portrayals of migration.
II.
TREATMENT
Settling the Pacific Northwest will provide a voice for African-Americans in
the Pacific Northwest and black integration into Seattle's Puget Sound and neighboring
areas. The project is in the initial preproduction stages of the gathering of information,
designing on-camera interview schedules and setting the production agenda to follow;
its release date is tentatively summer of 2014. The African-American presence in the
Pacific Northwest harkens all the way back to the Lewis and Clark Expedition, with many
settlers eventually migrating to the Puget Sound. The documentary will consist of: 1. OnCamera Interviews —framed through the voices of educators and Academians in
the black community that drive the narrative. 2 On Camera Interviews—Ordinary

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African-Americans living through extraordinary circumstances, who rose above the
repressive barriers of day-to-day living in transition with commitment and direct action to
record stories of personal perseverance and endurance in the face of adversity. 3. In
addition to on-camera interviews, the documentary will interweave archival
footage to accentuate the corresponding stories as a means of cinematic parallelism,
and 4. Interspersion of “man on the street” style reporting from community events,
festivals, workshops, etc.
Some of the hurdles and issues and conflicts to be highlighted include: AfricanAmericans in the labor force and black union prejudice on the docks, “push vs. pull”
factors of emigrating, integration in Seattle housing, impact of gentrification, political
representation, Griots or storytellers in the community, and strife between African
immigrants and long-standing African-American communities. A predominant theme of
the documentary will deal with the history of America in objectifying and marginalizing
black peoples and the role of black migration to the Pacific Northwest played in
reshaping identities and allowing African and African-Americans to take control of their
intellectual and cultural resources as a measure of self-empowerment. Also tackled are
Oregon’s notorious “black laws”, or exclusion laws against African-Americans that were
enacted in the 1840s.
Historically, the Pacific Northwest has been under-represented in regards to

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national history collections or cultural awareness projects of the “Black Experience in
America”. Stories of black migration iconography of the departure of black migrants
from the Southern US territories to the industrialized Northern areas of New York,
Chicago and St. Luis are depicted in the brilliant classic narratives of the AfricanAmerican artist Jacob Lawrence. But as Lawrence would also depict, the migration
continued to spread. Essentially images of the Pacific Northwest resonant in the minds
of many scholars have historically favored the region's Nordic or Scandinavian heritage.
And while the scope of this project must limit itself to a few select interviewees in the
interest of time and resources, its purpose is to bring a face to some of the forgotten
histories of a few unsung black heroes and heroines who settled the Pacific Northwest,
and who along with their descendants, were responsible for significant contributions in
areas of art, politics, labor, science, religion, medicine, entertainment, social justice and
law. These are pioneers whose intestinal fortitude in the face of adversity illustrates
leadership and the desire to make a difference.
With the 2008 opening of the Northwest African-American Museum, and its
mission to document “historical and cultural experiences” of African-American
communities in Seattle and the Pacific Northwest, this documentary project will serve as
yet another testament to the extraordinary and vibrant histories of its subjects by
tracing, documenting and expounding upon the individual journeys of migration.

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Moreover, it will assist in addressing the status of contemporary African-Americans in
the socio-cultural milieu of the Pacific Northwest and will promote diversity and cultural
awareness of their legacy. According to Seattle's Northwest African-American Museum's
studies curriculum, “Over time, African-Americans have fared better in the West
compared to other parts of the country in the realms of political representation,
economic gains, social status and education, although opportunities have in many cases
been hard-won.” This film project is a brief road map of some of those journeys that led
to settlement in the Pacific Northwest and later the Puget Sound Seattle area and the
lasting effects of the presence of those who undertook them with equal caution and
expediency. One of the organizations outlined in the film that operates on an
international basis is the Western Washington Office of the Northwest Immigration
Rights Project which oversees the acclimation into society of many of the Northwest’s
East African immigrants from countries such as Ethiopia, Eritrea and Somalia.
III.
AUDIENCE
–
CULTURAL
IDENTIFIER
Why this documentary? Why now? As established earlier most interpretations
of the Pacific Northwest in the humanities often depict the region’s concentration on
its Nordic and Scandinavian ancestry. The history of African-Americans in the Pacific

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Northwest has been largely unheralded and overlooked as a body of evidence on a
significant scale, which makes the target segment a prime candidate for cultural
identification and their rich, vivid and diverse stories of black migration a storytelling
treat. It is this documentary’s duty to educate the viewer and foster social discourse
about this gravely under-reported historical topic. Also, there is a growing belief
amongst some Americans, mainly Caucasians, that the significance of a black
President indicates we are living in a post-racial society; however, this is a viewpoint
that fails to take into consideration the institutional impact of racism and
disenfranchisement on the daily lives of African-Americans. I submit this proposal with
hope that the decision makers see the potential in its viability in the marketplace, as
well as an artistic merit of accomplishment.
The Settling the Pacific Northwest documentary embodies a hint of
nostalgia in capturing the elation juxtaposed with the agony of uprooting and
embarking on a new territory. Its audience spans the breadth of its key demographic
to also include other segments. The breakdown of the audience segmentation
includes: Black populations of the Pacific Northwest, Black peoples of the African
Diaspora, Historians, General History Enthusiasts, and Ethnographers.

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IV.
DISTRIBUTION,
DELIVERY
&
DISSEMINATION
As the arts are continually under fiscal and political pressure to validate their
programs and struggle to survive increasing reduction in funding efforts, it is
important to realize the value of community participation an awareness that special
projects bring. Understanding history from a multicultural standpoint allows for those
voices that have often been on the fringe to equally and successfully, participate in
the changing climate. With the advent of emerging technology and the digital
revolution, the opportunities are ripe for documentaries to go beyond their
disciplinary confines, to continue to tell their stories and engage the audience through
other forms of storytelling long after the film has ended. Therefore, the goal of this
project is to create a documentary film that extends beyond the medium into a
supplementary multidisciplinary and interactive media convergence. We live in a
digital and social media world and all that that entails: going beyond legacy systems
to bring original content to the marketplace. It behooves independent filmmakers to
seek and utilize all the tools available to them towards the distribution of their films.
The film value chain has become increasingly fragmented due to new media
concepts and strategies of distribution and no longer are independent filmmakers
tethered to the traditional “release windows formula” of old. Therefore, Settling the

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Pacific Northwest is a project that embraces new distribution models, especially
Internet distribution and marketing in its many phases.
One of the distribution efforts of this project is to arrange screenings in the
Pacific Northwest and communities elsewhere by only charging for the cost of the
DVD. This technique is to be promoted within online communities so that the
documentary may develop a following and cultivate a fan base, so that anyone
interested in screening the film at a communal gathering of sorts can purchase the
DVD. It is a similar technique that filmmaker Robert Greenwald used with his
documentary Walmart: The High Cost of Low Price.
Another method of distribution for this project is offer the first ten minutes
of the documentary as a free digital download for a limited engagement. The idea is
to capitalize on aggravating as many viewers as possible and building interest and
buzz about the film. More so, in this age of mobile platforms it is important to
monetize many screens, not just be concerned about theatrical screen releases.
On a larger distribution scale, the plan is to offer sponsorship packages to
enterprise businesses with a specific donation package to be determined later that
would allow the companies to have their logo included in the beginning and end of
the film, as other detailed sponsorship incentives in the continued marketing. Of
course, Settling the Pacific Northwest’s website is the first point of interfacing with

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the film and selling the DVD.
Of course, the Settling the Pacific Northwest website is the first point of
interfacing with the film and selling the DVD. The website will include other methods
of purchasing the DVD such as film festivals, film markets and conference
screenings.

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ACTION PLAN
o Leverage emergent technology in building a rich, dynamic and
comprehensive website that employs interactive storytelling -- the
compilation and display of visual, oral, written, and multimedia
o Incorporate a social media strategy into building relationships and creating
an excitement and passion centered surrounding your film. An effective
social media strategy moves and motivates your audience. Therefore, as a
measure optimizing Settling the Pacific Northwest’s web presence, the
implementation of online communities, Facebook, Twitter, blogs, podcasts,
wikis, RSS feeds and other new media tools that serve counterparts of the
strategic plan in measuring the effectiveness of engaging with the film’s
audience. In this day and age, the audience is no longer passive and
filmmakers, especially documentarians must work extra hard to ensure that
the content produced involves the audience for a higher impact. Digital
strategy is not just used as an ancillary thought after the film, but as a fully
integrated part of the development process.

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o Apply for seed funding from organizations such as National Geographic’s All
Roads Film Project, Pacific Pioneer Fund, Sundance Institute’s Documentary
Fund, The Lucius & Eva Eastman Fund.
o Apply for fiscal sponsorship with Allied Arts Foundation, Women Make Movies or
Independent Film Project (IFP).
o Cutting a trailer for fundraising and promotional advertisement via on-line
media content sites such as crowdfunding sites Indiegogo.com and
Kickstarter.com. Also, encourage promotion on film sites such as
FilmFestival.com’s Fest 21, Filmtrailer.com, Vimeo, and Youtube, etc.
o Creating and electronic press kit (EPK) and e-newsletter to chronicle
important events and maintain the ecosystem of the film.
o Assemble a distribution team to develop strategies for the distribution life of
the film, including broadcast, festival, theatrical, or home video markets. The
team will include a strategist, producer's rep, foreign sales agent, outreach
coordinator, webmaster, theatrical bookers, print and online publicists, to
name a few.
o Partner with varied non-profits and online communities to help increase

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funding efforts, marketing buzz, build awareness among the documentary’s
key core audiences by hosting screenings and participating in ongoing
promotional efforts. One such example relevant to the documentary is a
partnership with Seattle's National African-American Museum.
o Submission to national and international film festivals especially those that are
documentary-centric such as the Sheffield International Documentary
Festival, Sundance, SilverDocs, Tribeca International Film Festival, Full Frame
Documentary Festival, Hot Docs Canadian International Festival and Toronto
International Film Festival Documentary Program.
o Seek online retail and distribution VOD with Amazon.com, and Amazon's
Create Space that assists in processing orders for the production,
packaging and shipping of discs.
o Grow audience by building mailing lists and providing engaging
content to subscribers. Promote the film with T-shirts, hats, posters etc.
to maximize e- commerce efforts.
o Offer DVD screeners press kits; contact publications and websites and
request coverage of the film by print, broadcast and cable media.

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V.
PRODUCTION
TIMELINE
PRE-PRODUCTION
October - November 2013 — Shoot trailer for marketing project on
Kickstarter.com. Conceptualization & documentary script outline, review
and assessment of budgetary items, refine the treatment, research black
migration archival footage/documents to be included in B-Roll that will
supplement on- line camera interviews (use of footage in the public
domain and not attached to securing rights), identify the breakdown of
interviewees to represent specific time periods of black migration to the
Pacific Northwest. Secure Talent Releases.
November - December 2013 — Organizing a book that compiles important
pieces of production information that includes but is not limited to: selection
process of identifying and casting on-camera direct footage interviewees with
attention to socio- cultural and socio-political backgrounds and securing
releases, preparing interview questions for the subjects, studio scouting and

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confirmation, preparing film equipment and production gear, selecting and
confirming crew, cutting a three to five minute trailer as a promotional tool to
introduce the project and position marketing efforts both online and off-line.
PRODUCTION
December 2013 – February 2014 – Shooting the documentary/Production
(Location/Studio). First person interviews. External Engagement: Festivals.
Community Centers. Workshops. Outreach.
POST-PRODUCTION
February – May 2014 – Hiring an editor, Video transfer into non-linear video
editing system, adding graphics and titles, scouting for composer to create an
original musical score, recording narration and other post-audio, syncing archival
footage for cinematic parallelism, reshoots if needed, Finishing – video
sweetening, creating master, duplication and transferring to different formats for
distribution, creating screeners, one- sheets, germinal stages of planning a film
festival strategy.
***FILM BUDGET & KEY PERSONNEL BIOS/RESUMES SUBMITTED SEPARATELY

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